Coming into their regular season finale, Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter made a point to talk about all the aspects in which his team had improved over the final stretch of the year.
Their attacking group has evolved into a well-oiled machine – scoring 22 goals in their last 10 games to record a team-record 61 goals on the year. Their defense has put up four clean sheets in their last six games finishing the year with a streak of 304 minutes without conceding a goal.
All that was on display Saturday in a comprehensive 2-0 win over FC Dallas, their first ever win at Toyota Park which marked Portland’s eighth consecutive win against a Western Conference foe (5-0-3).
“Everything we needed to correct, we’ve corrected,” Porter told the media after the game. “These guys have done everything in their power to put themselves in position to be in the playoffs.”
Despite the fact that Dallas also needed a win to move into third place in the West and bypass the Knockout Round, Portland dominated the first half action, firing off seven shots to Dallas’ two and nabbing a goal on Darlington Nagbe’s first of the year, two minutes before halftime. Even with Dallas pushing numbers forward in the second half, they managed just one shot on goal. And Maximiliano Urruti put the game away with a goal in the 82nd minute.
“Very mature,” Porter said. “I thought we managed them, a very good attacking team, defensively. Very organized and packed. We’ve been pretty much that way the final stage of the season, and I think we’ve done that time and again.”
Even the goal from Nagbe, who hadn’t scored in 33 games this season after posting a career-high nine last season, was somewhat of a checked box for the Timbers.
“I was just happy we won the game,” Nagbe said after the game. “It shows the guys have been working hard throughout the whole season, and we’re happy we were able to come here and get the result.”
Though the Vancouver Whitecaps scored late to secure a 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids and steal the final Western Conference playoff spot away from Portland later Saturday evening, Porter was proud of his team's performance.
"These guys can hold their heads high,” Porter said. “To end the season with 49 points, that’s a good season, that’s a lot of points, that’s usually enough to get you in.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
